Permission Required

When bad things happen, does God cause it or does Satan? 

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and it’s a question people have been asking for ages. And I just bet someone has asked you. Or, I don’t know, maybe you’re the one who’s wrestled with it. Well, I find a lot of comfort, as well as a lot of insight into this question, in Luke 22:31. There, Jesus is having a conversation with Peter, and the Lord says something that – well, it kind of pulls back the curtain on the relationship between God and the devil. Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you.” Now, I think that is so fascinating because Jesus says that “Satan has asked.” The devil was required to ask permission to cause his mischief, wreak havoc, stir up trouble. Satan was required to come to God and seek a permit to harm and hurt Peter and the rest of the disciples. Now, I hope that like you, like me – I hope you find that amazing. Because we can be sure the old snake did not check in with God out of politeness. He did not approach God’s throne out of protocol or because it was the courteous or right thing to do. No. Satan could not lay a finger on the followers of Jesus without first obtaining permission. And just consider what that means, because it’s cosmic; it’s so important in understanding God’s sovereignty. The fact that Satan has to ask permission before he creates mayhem, means that the devil operates under constraints. He cannot do what he wants whenever he wishes. He’s got to clear it with God. God is the one in charge. 

But don’t be thinking that this means God and the devil are in cahoots. No way! And don’t think that God is somehow on the side of darkness because he makes the devil come to him for permission. Friend, God must control evil. And when he does so, it’s because he’s good. I mean, just picture it. Imagine a God who did not deliberately permit the smallest details of your sorrows. What if your trials were not screened by him? Think of what that would mean. Oh, man, the devil would be at you without constraints, free to do whatever he pleases. And the world would be so much worse than it is. It would be hell, overflowing with hate and war and violence and greed and misery every minute. Left to his own, the devil would make Jobs of us all! So, I breathe a great sigh of relief that Satan has to ask permission before he stirs up turmoil. Evil can only raise its ugly head when God deliberately backs away for a specific and intentional reason – always it’s a reason that’s wise and good, even if it is hidden from this present life. 

Friend, get this – if God did not control evil, the result would be evil uncontrolled. So God permits what he hates in order to achieve what he loves. It’s just that most of us won’t see it until the other side of eternity. So thank the Lord for the balance of painful and joyful things in your life. Thank God for the way he is, by his grace, managing your problems. And praise him that he is holding back all the other problems with which Satan would love to overwhelm you. That old devil is not God’s opposite. The devil is only a created being; he’s an angel – and a fallen one at that. Uh-uh. God has no opposites, so praise him today for his might and majesty. Praise the Lord for his wisdom in allowing our suffering. Praise him that he filters everything through his kind and benevolent fingers, and, friend, praise him today that God is always for you and never against you.

© Joni and Friends